Freude
}} The Freude The camera is called "Freude Camera J" (フロイドカメラJ) in , p.340, probably after a column in the April 1942 issue of Asahi Camera. is a Japanese camera taking 4×4cm exposures on 127 film, made in the first half of the 1940s, certainly by the company Kōsoku-sha. Attribution to Kōsoku-sha: , p.340, and this page at Asacame. See also the Freude Six. Name The camera is sometimes called "Vanguard" by mistake, , p.944, calls the camera "Vanguard" and does not mention the name of a maker. because of the shutter marking and because the name Freude is not written anywhere on the camera itself. However the case is marked FREUDE in two places, thus confirming the name. The name "Freude" itself obviously comes from the German word freude (i.e. joy). It might have been an allusion to the first words of the Ode to Joy ("Freude, schöner Götterfunken") written by Friedrich Schiller and musically adapted by Ludwig van Beethoven's in his Ninth Symphony. Description The Freude has an all metal body and a telescopic tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly. There is a top housing containing the viewfinder in the middle and supporting an accessory shoe to the right. The advance knob is at the left end, with a black arrow engraved to indicate the winding direction. Next to it is an exposure counter window. There are levers or buttons that are probably used to reset the exposure counter and to unlock film advance after each exposure. Film is loaded through the bottom plate, that is locked in place by a rotating button in the middle, with L'' and ''O positions (surely for Lock and Open). There is a film flange on each side of the bottom plate . The back contains a single red window at the middle right, protected by a horizontally sliding cover. It is used to set the first exposure. The lens is a Freude Anastigmat 60mm f/3.5 and the aperture is set by an index placed above the shutter housing. The shutter is said to be a Vanguard A. , p.340. It gives 300–1, B, T speeds engraved in that order. The release lever is situated on the shutter housing. The shutter plate is marked VANGUARD at the bottom, EXTRA CORONIAL It seems that "Coronial" is a typo for "Colonial", made likely by the fact that the "r" and "l" sounds are not distinguished in the Japanese phonology. at the top and there is a logo on the right, formed by the letters VG inside a large D'' letter, presumably for ''V G D. Evolution The Freude appears in the official list of set prices compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941, under the names "Freude I" (¥125) and "Freude II" (¥92), with no further detail. , type 1, section 10 and type 2, section 7. The camera is also featured in a column of the April 1942 issue of , , p.340. but no other information is available. The camera pictured in this page is presumably an early example. The exposure counter window is close to the viewfinder. There are levers on the rear of the top cover, perhaps to unlock the film advance and to reset the exposure counter. The film flanges at the bottom are black and have a low profile. The red window is offset to the right of the back. Finally, the lens bezel has a hollow shape. Presumably late cameras have an exposure counter window placed closer to the advance knob. Example pictured in , p.944, and examples observed in online auctions. There is a button on the rear of the top cover, near the advance knob, certainly to unlock the film advance. Another button is visible at the top, on the viewfinder's left (as seen by the photographer), perhaps to reset the frame counter. The film flanges at the bottom are chrome finished and have a higher profile. The lens bezel sometimes has a flat shape. At least one such camera is known with the red window in the middle of the back, but this is perhaps because the red window cover has been dismantled and remounted in the wrong position. Example observed in an online auction. Notes Bibliography * Item 233. (Unlike most other entries in this book, no advertisement is reproduced and no picture is given.) * Type 1, section 10; type 2, section 7. * P.944. The Freude is not listed in . Links In Japanese: * Freude among the A-Z 127 film cameras at Asacame Category: Japanese 4x4 viewfinder Category: F